Do you have hair in embarrassing places? Or does your body hair just grow thicker than you like? Unwanted or excessive body hair is a problem no one wants to deal with. Whether it's on traditional areas such as your legs or on nontraditional areas such as your face or back, there are some treatments, methods, and natural remedies that might help reduce your hair growth.

Steps

Method1

Using Traditional Methods

1

Start waxing. Waxing can be painful, but it is quite effective at reducing body hair growth. Since the hair is removed from the root, the hair grows back finer, thinner, and slower. You can either buy wax to apply yourself at home or go to a spa or salon to get a professional wax treatment.

There are two different kinds of wax. If you are waxing at home, make sure you get hard wax for sensitive areas such as your face, underarms, and bikini area. Soft wax can be used on heartier areas, such as your legs, back, chest, and arms. You can buy wax you heat in the microwave and fabric strips in most major retailers. You can also buy premade wax strips if you don't want to deal with melting your own wax.

One of the main downsides is that waxing should only be done about once every two weeks. This means that the body hair must be left to grow for that long. This can be uncomfortable at first, especially in problem areas, but over time, the hair growth should be reduced enough to make it harder to notice.[1]

2

Shave the area. If your hair growth is still too much, you can also remove the hair as well. Although there is a persistent myth that shaving makes hair grow back thicker and faster, there is no scientific fact behind this claim. Shaving an area will reduce the amount of hair for the time being while you wait for the hair to be reduced by other means.[2]

This method can cause irritation. Make sure, if you shave, to put plenty of shaving cream or lather on the area you shave in order to loosen the hair follicles and reduce skin irritation.

3

Use depilatory creams. Depilatory creams are chemical creams that dissolve the hair upon application. These creams used to smell awful and make your skin sting upon application, but developments in recent years have made many change to this method of hair removal that have made them more comfortable and pleasant to use. These creams, such as Nair, dissolve the hair above the skin. Although your hair may grow back a little faster than with waxing, the hair may be finer and lighter due to the bleaching qualities in many of these creams.

This method also hurts much less than waxing and does not cause skin irritation like shaving can.

You can buy some specifically designed for particular areas of your body, such as your face, bikini area, and your legs.[3]

Method2

Reducing Growth Naturally

1

Drink spearmint tea. Studies have shown that the consumption of spearmint tea can decrease the levels of androgens, the male testosterone that is one of the major causes of excessive hair growth, in a woman's blood stream. Buy spearmint tea or fresh spearmint leaves. Drink the tea twice a day for a few weeks to help decrease hair growth. [4][5]

2

Eat more soy products. When eaten, soy acts similar to estrogen in your body. These soy products may be able to reduce hair growth. Try to incorporate soy products such as edamame, soy milk, or soy burgers in your diet each day. Over time, it may help reduce your body hair growth.[6]

3

Make a gram flour and curd mask. To reduce the appearance of body hair, try applying a mask of gram flour, also known as besan, and curd. Measure 1 tablespoon and a pinch of turmeric. Add 1 tablespoon of curd and mix well. Add enough water to make it a thick paste. Massage it into your skin. Leave it on until it dries. Then, rub it gently off your face. Doing it once a day may reduce the amount and appearance of body hair.[7]

You can also replace the water with yogurt or heavy cream. The mixture will be thicker, but apply it in the same way. The dairy ingredients have nutrients that may help reduce hair growth even more.[8]

4

Make a homemade wax. Mix 1 tablespoon of honey with 1 teaspoon each of sugar and lemon juice. Heat the mixture in a microwave for about three minutes, or until it makes a thick waxy substance. Let it cool until it is cool enough to not burn your skin. Dust the area of your skin with cornstarch or flour to help the mixture adhere to the hair. Then, apply it to the area of body hair with a waxing spatula or butter knife in the direction your hair grows. Lay a piece of fabric over the mixture, pressing it down. Then, pull the fabric in the direction opposite to the way the hair grows. Repeat over the entire area of hair. Over time, less hair may grow in this area and it can be less dark and coarse.

Do this whenever the hair is long enough to adhere to the wax, usually every 30 days or so.[9][10]

Make sure you don't burn yourself with this mixture. It will be hot at first, so wait until it has adequately cooled before you apply.

Your skin may be irritated afterwards, so prepare with a soothing bath or cleanser.

Method3

Finding Other Routes

1

Take birth control. If your hair growth is associated with a medical condition such as hirsutism or polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), you may be able to take birth control to help reduce hair growth. Since these two conditions produce an overabundance of androgens, birth control is used to decrease the production of these in the body. The decrease in androgens will slow down hair growth and make it finer and softer than before.[11]

Consult your doctor about hair growth issues associated with these conditions. If you don't have one of these conditions, you should not take birth control to reduce hair growth unless it is prescribed by your primary care physician.

2

Get electrolysis. Electrolysis is a procedure where a small needle in placed into a hair follicle and it is zapped with an electrical current. This damages the hair at the follicle level, which stops hair growth in the area. These treatments are typically suited for small areas, though larger areas can be treated over multiple treatments. Look for a qualified electrologist in your area, but be aware. These treatments are expensive.

Electrolysis is the only permanent form of hair removal, but it does cause some pain.

If you have PCOS or hirsutism, these treatments will help at first, but the body hair will eventually come back.[12]

3

Have laser hair removal. Laser hair removal is faster and less painful than electrolysis, but your hair may grow back. Typically, you would need four to six treatments which are spaced about four to six weeks apart to gain satisfactory hair removal. During this process, body hair production is reduced. Dermatologists and skin specialists perform these treatments, but they are expensive.[13]

It is possible to permanently stop hair growth in certain areas with laser hair removal, although in some cases, the hair may still grow back.[14]

4

Try a medicated cream. There are some new medicated, prescription creams that help reduce hair growth. These products, such Vaniqa, help reduce the production of body hair in women along the face and neck. It blocks the production of a natural enzyme in the skin that causes hair to grow. This effect makes hair grow slower and can make the remaining hair lighter and finer.[15][16]

You really shouldn't reduce hair on or inside your nose. The hair inside your nose helps collect dust from the air, and keep you from breathing it in. Soft, downy hair (like peach fuzz) on the nose is normal, and everyone has it.

It depends on where you live and where you go. In general, the typical cost of laser hair removal is between $75 and $500, depending on the area of the body that is being treated. In most cases, the smaller the surface area to be treated, the lower the treatment cost. Some places will give you a discount after multiple treatments.

"Over my hand there were so many hairs. I used the method of applying lemon and sugar solution on hands, no improvement. Then I used the solution for 3 weeks once a day and observed on my hand there is some loss of hair. I use that solution daily, it is very good. Thanks."..." more

Rated this article:

HS

Hope Skhonde

Dec 24, 2017

"Lemon and sugar methods take time to work but it definitely works!"

AL

Adriana Lima

Nov 3, 2016

"I am a person who has black hair. I have less hair than blondes, but black hair is seen easily, and I'm embarrassed of it a lot. When I read this natural method, I was so happy! Thanks, wikiHow."..." more

A

Anonymous

Dec 27, 2016

"I'm happy to know that hair growing thicker after shaving or waxing is just a myth. I always felt scared to shave before. But now I'm not anymore, thanks for the information."..." more

A

Anonymous

Feb 15, 2017

"Learned that I'm not the only one with this problem, and I'm willing to try natural resources from this article."

A

Anonymous

Jul 21, 2017

"If we have any questions then I can easily find my answer here, wikiHow is really useful!"

A

Anonymous

Oct 24, 2016

"Lots of information in many different ways to address the issue at hand. Thanks!"

A

Anonymous

Aug 14, 2016

"There were so many great methods that I had never heard about in this article!"